Healthy cooking doesn't mean that you have to become a gourmet chef or invest in expensive cookware.  Traditional Asian method, stir-frying quickly cooks small, uniform-sized pieces of food while they're rapidly stirred in a wok or large nonstick frying pan. If your cookware is constructed of a lesser grade material than surgical stainless steel, there's an excellent chance that tiny, minuscule particles of the material that your cookware is constructed of could be breaking and peeling off right into the food that you're serving to your family.Natural antioxidants (vitamins and minerals) may or may not be left in the food after cooking.

Data suggested that maximizing the nutritional quality of your diet may slow down or prevent age-related problems that many people think of as inevitable. The studies recommend cooking foods for a short time and in as little water as possible. The most harmful is the production of unstable oxidized molecules known as free radicals. In addition, cooking causes loss of vitamins and damages important enzymes. Cooking also creates other harmful compounds and carcinogens and breaks down unsaturated (good) fats to saturated (bad) fats.

Quality cookware and utensils that do not interact with food are also important to consider. Natural materials such as earthenware, ceramic, glass and metals such as stainless steel, cast-iron or enamel coated steel are recommended. Avoid aluminum, plastic, Teflon and other synthetic materials. Nonstick cookware such as Teflon will emit toxic fumes when heated to a high temperature. Inhaling these toxic fumes can lead to respiratory disease, weakening of the immune system, cancer, depression, asthma and other health problems.

Oxidation of a stable molecule triggers the loss of an electron and turns it into an unstable molecule (free radical).Stable molecules ringed by paired electrons are changed during the cooking process. Cooking temperatures as low as 117° F, create noticeable signs of oxidation in these molecules.
As we eat cooked food, free radicals enter our body and rob electrons from our healthy cells, opening them up to viruses and permanent cell damage. These cells tend to stabilize themselves and rob electrons from other neighboring cells. This is when the “chain reaction” of damage begins.

The oils and fats we use to cook breaks into the chemicals called hydrocarbons. These saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons experience heat degradation during the cooking process, usually at elevated temperatures, and the process of oxidation is enhanced. This process of oxidation in heated oils and fats has a tendency of converting healthier unsaturated hydrocarbons into less healthier saturated hydrocarbons which are closely related to cardiovascular problems.

It is important then not to overcook your meals, try to cook your meals in the shortest time possible and with the minimum amount of water possible. However, dry cooking methods such as roasting and baking are perhaps the worst method, as they require a longer cooking time. Microwaving, frying, boiling and sautéing are some of the methods that you need to consider before you cook. Steaming and stir-frying are better choices, as they will allow the natural nutrition to remain in your food.

It is also important to consider the oxidation that occurs in vegetables once they are cut, as oxidation will neutralize the vitamins. For this reason, try not to cut or chop your vegetables way ahead of time.

Storing foods depletes their vitamin and mineral content. So remember not to keep leftovers in the fridge for more than a couple of days. Instead, try freezing your leftovers right away, as soon as your food has cooled.Never put cold water into a hot utensil. Heat utensils gradually, try not to cook high heat.

Main aims for a cooking utensils is to :

• Decreases the creation of harmful free radicals
• Reduces the amount of cardiovascular disease promoters
• Decreases the amount of vitamin and mineral degradation
• Decreases the amount of damage to enzymes contained in cooked food
• Reduces the formation of cancer- causing carcinogens
• Reduces the amount of conversion of unsaturated fats (“good fats”) to saturated fats (“bad fats”)

Some types of utensils:

Aluminum : Aluminum is a lightweight metal with very good thermal conductivity. It does not rust, and is resistant to many forms of corrosion. Aluminum can however react with some acidic foods to change the taste of the food.Studies indicated that Alzheimer's patients have unusually high levels of aluminum in the brain, suggesting a possible connection between the elevated aluminum and the disease.Although up to 52% of all cookware is made with aluminum, research has shown that the amount of aluminum leached into food from this cookware is very small.

Copper: Copper pans provide the best conductivity, and therefore the most even heating.A thin layer of tin prevents the copper from reacting with acidic foods.copper cookware is Excellent for certain uses.

Lead: Lead is a natural element with thousands of uses. Because it is widespread (and often hidden) lead can easily contaminate food and water where it is undetectable to the eye or taste.Children should be protected from ceramic cookware containing lead. Acidic foods such as oranges, tomatoes, or foods with vinegar will cause more lead to be leached from ceramic cookware than non-acidic foods like milk. More lead will leach into hot liquids like coffee, tea, and soups than into cold beverages. Any dishware that has a dusty or chalky gray residue on the glaze after it has been washed should not be used.The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) monitors lead in food, beverages, food containers, and tableware. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) monitors lead levels in drinking water.

Cast Iron : Cast iron cookware is slow to heat, but once at temperature provides even heating. Cast iron can also withstand very high temperatures. Being a reactive material, cast iron can have chemical reactions with high acid foods such as wine or tomatoes. In addition, spinach cooked on bare cast iron will turn black. There is significant evidence that cooking in cast iron pots increases the amount of iron in the diet. This is usually a very small source of dietary iron.

Stainless Steel : They are commonly used for kitchen equipment. Stainless steel's virtues are a resistance to corrosion, it does not react with either alkaline or acidic foods, and it is not easily scratched or dented. However, unless your stainless steel cookware is dinged and pitted, the amount of metals likely to get into your food is negligible. Stainless steel's drawback for cooking use is that it is a relatively poor heat conductor.These days, many health conscious cooks are turning to anodized aluminum cookware as a safer alternative. The electro-chemical anodizing process locks in the cookware’s base metal, aluminum, so that it can’t get into food, and makes for what many cooks consider an ideal non-stick and scratch-resistant cooking surface. Calphalon is the leading manufacturer of anodized aluminum cookware, but newer offerings from All Clad (endorsed by celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse) and others are coming on strong.

Non-stick : They are frequently coated with a substance such as Teflon in order to minimize the possibility of food sticking to the pan surface. This has advantages and disadvantages for flavor and ease of use. A small amount of sticking is needed to cause flavorful browning (called a glaze); adding liquid to lift the glaze from the pot is called deglazing. Additionally, nonstick pans cannot be used at high temperatures.When frying in pans without such a coating, it is usually necessary to use vegetable or animal fat to prevent sticking.There is currently some controversy surrounding the use of Teflon and Silverstone, as the decomposition products that they produce at high temperatures can be toxic. So,If you do use (non-stick) cookware, don't let it sit on the burner for long before adding food. Doing so may permit the temperature to rise high enough to emit chemical fumes. Avoid cooking at high temperatures with nonstick cookware. Use low to medium temperatures instead. And don't forget to keep your pet birds out of the kitchen

Pressure cooker: Because some of the most nutritious wholefoods - fresh vegetables, beans and grains - are traditionally time-consuming to prepare, they are often bypassed by busy cooks. Since pressure cooking enables you to prepare these foods with fast food convenience, the pressure cooker can influence both overall health and the potential to manage your weight. In addition, because pressure cooking is quick and occurs in an airtight environment, nutrients are well-conserved.Because the pressure cooker is a "closed system," few vitamins and minerals are lost to the cooking water or dissipated into the air. Vegetables are not exposed to oxygen and retain their vitamins, minerals and their vivid color. Low fat, high protein beans and legumes, are frequently avoided because of their long cooking time under normal cooking conditions.

Microwave: Generally, cooking food takes one-fourth the time in the microwave than it takes in your conventional oven.Once you've made something as delicious as stuffed shrimp in less than 10 minutes in your microwave, you'll find it difficult to go back to spending an hour in the kitchen using conventional cooking methods.

Most cookware bought in reputable retail stores will not pose any health risks. Use caution when buying cookware from other sources.